Vampire s Kiss (1989)

June 2, 1989

Review/Film;
The Woman He Adores, It Turns Out, Is a Vampire

By CARYN JAMES

Published: June 2, 1989

LEAD: In ''Vampire's Kiss,'' Nicolas Cage plays a literary agent named Peter Loew, a young man who keeps a photo of Kafka behind his desk and seems to suffer from garden-variety fear of commitment. When he finds the woman of his dreams, she turns out to be a creature who bites his neck passionately with her long fangs at night, and is sure to be out of his hair by dawn.

In ''Vampire's Kiss,'' Nicolas Cage plays a literary agent named Peter Loew, a young man who keeps a photo of Kafka behind his desk and seems to suffer from garden-variety fear of commitment. When he finds the woman of his dreams, she turns out to be a creature who bites his neck passionately with her long fangs at night, and is sure to be out of his hair by dawn. Though his true love is an imaginary vampire (played by Jennifer Beals), those nights full of heavy breathing and bleeding convince Peter that he is a vampire, too.

Written by Joseph Minion, who also wrote Martin Scorsese's ''After Hours,'' ''Vampire's Kiss'' similarly requires a style as darkly comic and deft as its bizarre premise. Instead, the film is dominated and destroyed by Mr. Cage's chaotic, self-indulgent performance. He gives Peter the kind of sporadic, exaggerated mannerisms that should never live outside of acting-class exercises.

He moves in and out of a peculiar, purse-mouthed accent, in which the word ''soon'' comes out ''sewne.'' Is this a parody of a pretentious literary type, or has Mr. Cage been possessed by some pseudo-Transylvanian dialect? He gets hysterical during a session with his analyst, reciting the alphabet in an apoplectic manner that shouts, ''Look at me! I'm acting!'' A more astute director than Robert Bierman might have reined this performance in, moving toward something resembling coherence.

Peter's delusion comes to seem pathetic rather than funny - a shift in style far beyond the capability of this film, with its choppy direction and editing. And it becomes tastelessly unfunny when Peter attacks his secretary.

Toward the end of ''Vampire's Kiss,'' it seemed that this hunch-backed, clench-jawed performance might owe something to the comedian Martin Short's hilarious Ed Grimley character, a nerdy, pointy-haired, dancing fool. The idea of Ed Grimley suddenly convinced he is a vampire is funnier than anything on screen in ''Vampire's Kiss,'' which opens today at the Beekman and other theaters.
Bloodthirsty Lover With Long Fangs
VAMPIRE'S KISS, directed by Robert Bierman; written by Joseph Minion; director of photography, Stefan Czapsky; edited by Angus Newton; music by Colin Towns; production designer, Christopher Nowak; produced by Barbara Zitwer and Barry Shils; released by Hemdale. At Beekman, 65th Street near Second Avenue, and other theaters. Running time: 105 minutes. This film is rated R.
Peter Loew ... Nicolas Cage
Alva Restrepo ... Maria Conchita Alonso
Rachel ... Jennifer Beals
Dr. Glaser ... Elizabeth Ashley
Jackie ... Kasi Lemmons
Emilio ... Bob Lujan
Sharon ... Jessica Lundy
Donald ... John Walker